Acts 18:18

Paul Returns to Antioch in Syria

18:18 Paul, after staying ¹  many more days in Corinth, ²  said farewell to ³  the brothers and sailed away to Syria accompanied by ⁴  Priscilla and Aquila. ⁵  He ⁶  had his hair cut off ⁷  at Cenchrea ⁸  because he had made a vow. ⁹ 

Acts 21:3

21:3 After we sighted Cyprus ¹⁰  and left it behind on our port side, ¹¹  we sailed on to Syria and put in ¹²  at Tyre, ¹³  because the ship was to unload its cargo there.

Galatians 1:21

1:21 Afterward I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

[18:18]  ¹ tn The participle προσμείνας (prosmeina") is taken temporally.

[18:18]  ² map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

[18:18]  ³ tn Or “Corinth, took leave of.” Grk “saying farewell to”; the participle ἀποταξάμενος (apotaxameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[18:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “Syria, and with him.”

[18:18]  ⁵ sn See the note on Aquila in 18:2.

[18:18]  ⁶ tn Or “Aquila, who.” The relationship of the participle κειράμενος (keirameno") is difficult to determine. Traditionally it is taken to refer to Paul, meaning that Paul had his hair cut off because of the vow. However, due to the proximity of the noun ᾿Ακύλας (Akula") and the reversal of the normal order (Aquila and Priscilla, Acts 17:34), the participle is taken as adjectival referring to Aquila by H. Greeven, TDNT 2:777, n. 11. The later references to Paul in Jerusalem (Acts 21:23) do not resolve the problem, because the cutting of Paul’s own hair, while it may be implied, is not specifically mentioned in connection with the completion of the vows made by the other four.

[18:18]  ⁷ tn The word “off” is supplied in the translation to indicate that this was not a normal haircut, but the shaving of the head connected with taking the vow (see Acts 21:24).

[18:18]  ⁸ tn That is, “before he sailed from Cenchrea.”

[18:18]  ⁹ sn He had made a vow. It is debated whether this vow is a private vow of thanksgiving or the Nazirite vow, because it is not clear whether the Nazirite vow could be taken outside Jerusalem. Some have cited the Mishnah (m. Nazir 3:6, 5:4) to argue that the shaving of the hair can occur outside Jerusalem, and Josephus, J. W. 2.15.1 (2.313) is sometimes suggested as a parallel, but these references are not clear. H. Greeven, TDNT 2:777, is certain that this refers to the Nazirite vow. Regardless, it is clear that Paul reflected his pious dependence on God.

[21:3]  ¹⁰ sn Cyprus is a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.

[21:3]  ¹¹ sn The expression left it behind on our port side here means “sailed past to the south of it” since the ship was sailing east.

[21:3]  ¹² tn BDAG 531 s.v. κατέρχομαι 2 states, “arrive, put in, nautical t.t. of ships and those who sail in them, who ‘come down’ fr. the ‘high seas’…ἔις τι at someth. a harbor 18:22; 21:3; 27:5.”

[21:3]  ¹³ sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia. From Patara to Tyre was about 400 mi (640 km). It required a large cargo ship over 100 ft (30 m) long, and was a four to five day voyage.